Faith
A well known verse: Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of
God. Romans 10:17. If faith is being fully persuaded that God would
do as He has said, I now see the absolute necessity of knowing what He has
said. I could not be fully persuaded of something that I did not
know. His Word became of supreme importance. It really didn’t
matter what I thought or what someone else thought or said, the only
important thing was what has God said. Then, I needed to be fully assured
of that truth, no matter the circumstances and no matter the arguments.
I was back in Romans again, and decided to read the book in its entirety. I smile now at the naivety of my young Christian life. The depths of doctrine! But off I went reading throughout! When I got to the end of the book I found a phrase that that I had also found in Chapter 1: the obedience of faith. Actually, I was a little confused.
If faith is simply trust what God says, what does obedience have to do with it? I continued to study. I ended up in the well-known passage called the “Hall of Faith” of Hebrews 11. It was here that I saw the obedience of faith exemplified. And again my understanding grew.
What I had learned so far: To live by faith 1) I must have heard what God has said and 2) I must believe it, being fully persuaded that God will keep His Word
What I was about to learn: Obedience would be the proof that I had actually heard God and believed Him.
I reflected on several of those saints of old named in Hebrews 11.
By faith Abel: Abel had heard God, believed Him, and did what God had told him to do.
By faith Noah: Noah had heard God, believed Him, and did what God had told him to do.
By faith Abraham: Abraham had heard God, believed Him, and did what God told him to do.
By faith Moses: Moses had heard God, believed Him, and did what God told him to do.
The list goes on. But what I saw was that faith and obedience are inseparably linked. When a person has heard God, and believed (trusted) Him, it will be seen as that person does whatever God has spoken to him.
I was back in Romans again, and decided to read the book in its entirety. I smile now at the naivety of my young Christian life. The depths of doctrine! But off I went reading throughout! When I got to the end of the book I found a phrase that that I had also found in Chapter 1: the obedience of faith. Actually, I was a little confused.
If faith is simply trust what God says, what does obedience have to do with it? I continued to study. I ended up in the well-known passage called the “Hall of Faith” of Hebrews 11. It was here that I saw the obedience of faith exemplified. And again my understanding grew.
What I had learned so far: To live by faith 1) I must have heard what God has said and 2) I must believe it, being fully persuaded that God will keep His Word
What I was about to learn: Obedience would be the proof that I had actually heard God and believed Him.
I reflected on several of those saints of old named in Hebrews 11.
By faith Abel: Abel had heard God, believed Him, and did what God had told him to do.
By faith Noah: Noah had heard God, believed Him, and did what God had told him to do.
By faith Abraham: Abraham had heard God, believed Him, and did what God told him to do.
By faith Moses: Moses had heard God, believed Him, and did what God told him to do.
The list goes on. But what I saw was that faith and obedience are inseparably linked. When a person has heard God, and believed (trusted) Him, it will be seen as that person does whatever God has spoken to him.